Month: April 2004

Active Surplus is one of the oldest stores still in business in my neighbourhood, the increasingly swanky-boutique-y Queen Street West. It’s an Accordion City institution. It’s a William Gibsonesque

junk shop, selling overstock electronics, components cannibalized from

junked machines, obsolete gear and excess stuff that would otherwise be

gathering dust in a warehouse. It’s a haven for techies

looking for cheap gear to soup up their computers or give their old

gear a new lease on life, nostalgic gamers looking for old Atari and Colecovision

cartidges, hardware hackers who need switches, LEDs and solder, robot

olympics competitors looking for parts, art students who need magnets,

hipsters who like serving cocktails in test tubes and Erlenmeyer flasks, riceboxers and DJs looking for audio gear and bargain hunters looking for a cheap phone, power strip or television set.

I took The Redhead here and she loved the place.

The store has moved to a temporary location next door as renovations

take place. We’re talking serious renovations. How serious? Check out this photo album.

Active Surplus on Queen Street West. Click on the photo to see the album.